Lesson 1 – African Life through Its poetry

THE VILLAGE OF ROUND AND SQUARE HOUSES

THE VILLAGE OF ROUND AND SQUARE HOUSES is set in a village in Africa. The houses of this African village
are of two shapes, square and round. The square houses shelter the men of the village. The round houses
shelter the women and children. As the story unfolds, the routines of the villagers, including work, play,
mealtime, and bedtime routines are explored. One night, a grandmother tells her grandchild the story of how
the village came to be divded into round and square houes. As she tells it, a volcano in the distance erupted
and left only two houses standing, one square and one round. The villagers took this as a sign of special
significance. The village chief assigned the men to the square house and the women to the round house. The
people of the village have been living this way, in peace and harmony, ever since. Objectives • Children will
learn about African culture • Children will explore relationships among family members • Children will
investigate the importance of assuming responsibility and working together Before Viewing Activities Locate
Tos in West Africa on the map. Discuss the climate and vegetation. Compare it to where the children live.
Share the book The Village of Round and Square Houses with children. Then ask: How were the men, women,
and children's responsibilities different from one another? What kinds of crops were grown in the village? What
did the people of the village do after the night's dinner? How were the tools that the villagers used for both
work and play similar to/different from ours? What would you like most/least about living in a village like this?
Would you rather be a man, woman, or child in this village? Why? Talk with children about their daily lives
with family members. Encourage children to describe the different responsibilities family members share at
home, and the ways responsibilities are divided. Later, explain that the kinds of responsibilities family
members have, and the ways they are divided, vary from culture to culture. Ask children to listen as well as
observe carefully. Tell children that they will hear many different kinds of background sounds. After viewing,
see how many different sounds children can recall. (These sounds include background music of different kinds,
crickets, wind, and a volcano erupting.)
 Vocabulary: Getting the meaning of Idioms

are expressions or figure of speech whose meaning cannot be taken literally. It

can be a word, phrase, or sentence.
Example:

Activity1: Choose the correct meaning of the Idioms in each of the sentences.

1. After going to the zoo, the mall, and the movies, Cassie was sick of bending over backwards to entertain
her nieces.

a. Cassie was doing very little to entertain her nieces.

b. Cassie was making small efforts to entertain her nieces.
c. Cassie was trying very hard to entertain her nieces.
d. Cassie was not trying at all to entertain her nieces.

2. Bobby would have been playing ball until the cows came home if it hadn’t been for Suzie dragging him
home for dinner.

a. Bobby was just about to stop playing ball.

b. Bobby didn’t even want to play ball to begin with.
c. Bobby prefers nature to athletics.
d. Bobby would have continued playing ball for a long time.

3. Mr. Johnson was very particular about the arrangement of his classroom, so the thing he hated most was
when his students caused a ruckus with their wild horseplay.

a. Mr. Johnson hated when his students pretended to be animals.

b. Mr. Johnson hated when his students played sports.
c. Mr. Johnson hated when his students wrestled around with each other.
d. Mr. Johnson hated when his students made animal noises.

4. Eric wanted to fix his cousin’s computer, but he was already having problems setting up his Aunt’s Wi-Fi
network and he didn’t want to open a whole new can of worms.

a. Eric was sick of spending his time helping his family.

b. Eric wanted to go fishing instead of working on computers.
c. Eric was having difficulties untangling the computer wires.
d. Eric was not ready to begin working on a complicated new problem.

5. Even though Candace already had a new job, she submitted her two week notice and conducted herself in a
professional way at her old job because she didn’t want to burn bridges.

a. Candace didn’t want to ruin her positive relationship with her old employer.
b. Candace wasn’t ready to start her new job.
c. Candace was really going to miss her old job.
d. Candace was waiting until her last day to rub it in everyone’s face that she was leaving.

6. World renowned country western super group The Mountain Boys can sell out an arena at the drop of a
hat.

a. The Mountain Boys may be able to sell out an arena, but it will take a long time.
b. The Mountain Boys can sell out an arena very quickly.
c. The Mountain Boys are always willing to perform at charity events.
d. The Mountain Boys enforce a dress code at all of their shows.

7. Vivian expected Craig to sob uncontrollably when she broke up with him; however, Craig kept a stiff
upper lip.

a. Craig cried even more than Vivian had expected.

b. Craig cried about as much as Vivian had expected.
c. Craig cried a little less than Vivian had expected.
d. Craig did not cry.
8. Mrs. Robinson expects Cassie and my presentation to be good, but we have been working on it every night
for the last week, so we are really going to knock her socks off.

a. Cassie and the speaker are not prepared to give a good presentation.
b. Cassie and the speaker intend on hitting Mrs. Robinson rather than presenting.
c. Cassie and the speaker’s presentation will far exceed Mrs. Robinson’s expectations.
d. Cassie and the speaker’s presentation will meet Mrs. Robison’s expectations.

9. Over the summer Brian was really excited about being placed in the advanced math class, but after getting
his syllabus on the first day and seeing the workload, he was ready to jump ship.

a. Brian was even more excited about the math class than he was over the summer.
b. Brian wanted to start working on his math assignments right away.
c. Brian did not want to be in the advance math class anymore.
d. Brian wanted to cause some trouble in the advanced math class.

10. Jose had a hard time comparing the iPhone to the Samsung phone because to him they were apples and
oranges.

a. Jose can hardly tell the difference between the two phones because they are so similar.
b. Jose believes that the phones are so different from one another that they cannot be compared.
c. Jose doesn’t know anything about phones so he may as well be thinking about fruits.
d. Jose is too hungry to think about phones at this time.

11. When Brian felt pretty good about getting the a pair of roller-skates for his birthday, until he saw his twin
brother Ryan open up his GameBox X-9000, and then Brian felt like he got the short end of the stick.
a. Brian felt like Ryan received a better gift than he.
b. Brian was quite pleased with his roller skates.
c. Brian wanted a long stick that he could use to support himself on hikes.
d. Brian feels bad for Ryan because Ryan wanted roller-skates.

12. After Ms. Smith caught Darnisha chewing gum for the third time, Ms. Smith scheduled a parent teacher
conference with Darnisha’s mother. When Darnisha’s mother came into Ms. Smith’s classroom, she was
chewing gum. Ms. Smith thought to herself, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

a. Ms. Smith thinks that Darnisha dresses like her mother.

b. Ms. Smith thinks that Darnisha acts a lot like her mother.
c. Ms. Smith is surprised to see that Darnisha’s mother came.
d. Ms. Smith thinks that Darnisha’s mother lives very close to the school.

13. Brad was accusing us of stealing his phone until he found it, and now he’s trying to sweep it under the
rug.

a. Brad thinks that his phone will be safer if he hides it under the rug.
b. Brad wants to do something to make up for his mistake.
c. Brad is trying to locate a signal for his phone so that he can use it.
d. Brad wants to pretend that the incident never happened.

14. Keisha got up a started yelling at Ronnie and threatening him but Ronnie didn’t even flinch because he
knew that her bark was worse than her bite.

a. Ronnie thinks that Keisha will get in trouble for yelling.

b. Ronnie thinks that Keisha has bad breath.
c. Ronnie thinks that Keisha is loud but not dangerous.
d. Ronnie thinks that Keisha has a crush on him.

15. You might think that Billy Parker is the kid who has everything, but if you saw the list of chores his parents
give him, I guarantee that you wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.

a. You wouldn’t want your shoes to get as dirty as Billy’s when he’s doing his chores.
b. If you have to do as many chores as Billy, you’ll want a pair of comfortable shoes.
c. Billy shoes are so uncomfortable that doing his chores is really unpleasant.
d. Billy has so many chores to do that it is unpleasant to imagine doing them all.

Activity 2:

1. Janet gushed over the sculpture in the antique shop, but Kevin thought that the craftsmanship was merely
run of the mill.

a. Something this is of exceptionally high quality

b. Something marked by creativity or originality
c. Something that is too expensive for the average person too afford
d. Something that is low quality, common or ordinary

2. After Michael missed three shots in a row and passed the ball to a player on the other team, the boys were
only up by two and they suspected that Michael would be the Achilles' heel of the team.

a. A person who performs well under pressure

b. A valuable contributor to a cause shared by many
c. A weakness in an otherwise strong entity
d. A person who inspires others to succeed

3. Lyle chose Marco for his partner, thinking that it would be fun to work with his best friend, but now that the
project was due tomorrow and the boys had nothing done, Lyle realized that he should have hitched his
horse to a different wagon.

a. When one wishes to have chosen different company than one is presently keeping
b. When one accepts responsibility for one's own involvement in an unfortunate event
c. When one understands that the only way to solve a problem is through hard work
d. When one determines that the best course of action is to tell the truth

4. The prosecutor knew that the councilman had stolen public funds, but she wanted to get all of her ducks
in a row before she charged him with a crime.

a. She wanted to catch the councilman in the act

b. She wanted to take the time to properly prepare her case
c. She had other business to take care of before going after the councilman
d. She had to finish eating lunch before she went back to work

5. Vince knew that if he wanted to get into college, he'd have to keep his nose to the grindstone all senior
year.

a. Vince would have to apply for college.

b. Vince would have to work hard for a whole year.
c. Vince would have to wait patiently for an opportunity.
d. Vince would have to stay out of trouble for a whole year.

6. Mrs. March was afraid of leaving the student teacher with her third period class because she feared that the
student teacher was a bit too green to be left alone with such a wild bunch.

a. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too inexperienced.
b. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too jealous of some of the students.
c. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too nice.
d. Mrs. March felt that the student teacher was too sick to handle the children.

7. I know that Catherine has been really unpleasant toward you, Alvin, but take it with a grain of salt:
she's mean to everyone.

a. Alvin should try hard to get on Catherine's good side.

b. Alvin should be worried that Catherine is not treating him kindly.
c. Alvin should go and get lunch and reflect on Catherine's attitude.
d. Alvin should not be concerned about how Catherine is treating him.

8. Ever since country western super group The Mountain Boys started wearing stovepipe hats, those hats have
been selling like hotcakes.

a. This means that stovepipe hats have been selling quickly.

b. This means that stovepipe hats have been selling slowly.
c. This means that stovepipe hats have been selling at an average pace.
d. This means that stovepipe hats have not been selling at all.

9. After promising to go to Beth's parent's cabin for the weekend, Molly got invited to the coolest party of the
year and now Molly is really in a pickle.

a. This means that no matter what happens things are going to work out for Molly.
b. This means that Molly is stuck in a difficult situation.
c. This means that Molly has become really popular.
d. This means that Molly smells like vinegar.

10. Even though Lucas had been bullying the new kid since the beginning of the year, Lucas shed his
crocodile tears after the principal caught him and threatened him with suspension.
a. This means that Lucas genuinely feels sorry for his actions.
b. This means that Lucas display of sorrow was insincere.
c. This means that Lucas was afraid of the principal.
d. This means that Lucas was afraid of the new kid.

11. The researchers at the renowned UC Berkeley have a long history of pushing the envelope in regards to
computer science.

a. This means that these researchers have long followed behind others in the field.
b. This means that these researchers have long led efforts in the field.
c. This means that these researchers have kept up with trends in the field.
d. This means that these researchers have long attempted to do away with paper record keeping.

12. While Kristie's cake pops are both delicious and artistic, nobody can hold a candle to her pecan pie.

a. This means that Kristie's pecan pie is not visually pleasing.

b. This means that Kristie's pecan pie is very hot when it comes out of the oven.
c. This means that Kristie's pecan pie is better than all others.
d. This means that Kristie's pecan pie is in serious need of improvements.

13. After I told the client that we could give him a discount on the window repairs, the boss said that we
couldn't and now I've got egg all over my face.

a. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who is known to not tell the truth.
b. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who profits from other's misfortunes.
c. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who looks foolish or embarrassed.
d. Someone who has egg all over his or her face is a person who looks very hungry.

14. When Angelo called Devon "stinky pants" on the playground, Devon wanted to call Angelo a mean name
too, but Devon's mother had always taught him to turn the other cheek.

a. To forgive an act of aggression

b. To return an act of aggression with greater force
c. To return an act of aggression with equal force
d. To hide from aggression in order to protect oneself

15. Although I hate green peppers, I ordered them on the pizza because everybody else wanted them and I
didn't want to go against the grain.

a. To oppose or resist a strong force

b. To just go along with whatever is the easiest
c. To raise one's voice to an inappropriate level
d. To ignore something unpleasant

Grammar Awareness: Using Parallel Structures

, also known as parallel structures, can add fluidity and power to your
writing. This involves presenting your thoughts in an orderly manner so that your
reader can easily follow your thoughts.
Example:
Use Parallelism in single words, such as:
 Comprehension and Reading Skills: Cause and Effect

occurs when one event leads to another. The first event is called the
cause and the second is the effect. In myths, cause and effect can be used to explain a
natural occurrence for which there appears to be no logical answer.
Example:

 Cause: There was no firm land. (first event)

 Effect: Olorun assigned the task of making some to Great God. (second event)
 Vocabulary: Noting Collocations

is a word or phrase that goes with another word or phrase.

Example:
 Vocabulary: Distinguishing Types of Irony

is a figure of speech in which you use words to suggest a meaning that is

opposite of what you really think.
Types of Irony

 Verbal Irony – saying one thing when you really mean the opposite or contrary.

Examples:
 Situational Irony – what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected.

Examples:

 Dramatic Irony – the reader or audience knows something a character does not.

Examples:
Language Workshop: Using signal words and Expressions (General
to Particular pattern)

are sometimes called signal words or expressions.

Types of Irony

 Verbal Irony – saying one thing when you really mean the opposite or contrary.

Examples:
 Situational Irony – what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected.

Examples:

 Dramatic Irony – the reader or audience knows something a character does not.

Examples: